Environmental restoration of tribal land can resume. Back in January the previous federal administration declared areas in Calif. that had been damaged by construction and the operation of the Central Valley Project were done, meaning no more money for restoration after the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act, so water and power contracts would continue. The project did harm the Hoopa tribe says to the Trinity River basin and the fishery the tribe has relied on for decades. The Hoopa tribe also brought up to the newer administration that the Trump administration assigned as much as $400 million to be paid to central valley contractors instead to their interior secretary’s personal clients.
An ex-Marine Sergeant who received the Purple Heart during the Iraq war and has a business in Willits has pleaded guilty to federal firearm charges. Jonathan Cuney apparently had a storage shed in Redway where he kept ghost guns and ammo along with other firearms and ammunition. He pleaded guilty in the State of New York. Once he was a war hero for seeing a grenade in Fallujah near his comrades and detonated it to his own detriment, being wounded by flying shrapnel. He was also previously convicted of gun trafficking and pleaded guilty then too. The items he had in storage were shipped to Willits and Rhode Island. He then made non-serialized handguns, rifles, and silencers. He faces ten years in prison and 3 years post release supervision.
Lakeport police are partnering with the company Ring, who makes doorbell cameras and will also take part in the Ring Neighbors App. The online program will allow owners of the Ring system to help cops track criminals in the neighborhood as crimes are committed. They liken it to an online Neighborhood Watch. The app has millions using it already. Users can log in and watch their neighborhood in real time, then automatically share crime and safety related videos, pictures and texts. They can also get texts from their neighbors, local police and other selected crime and safety news sources in real time.
As the drought gets even worse in Calif., construction crews are finishing a $10 million emergency project in the Delta to preserve water supplies. The rock barrier is being built in Contra Costa County. It’s 800-feet long, 120 feet wide, and in the water 35 feet down. The idea is to block salt water from the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay going too far east and in turn tainting state and federal pumps near the town of Tracy. They are tasked with sending fresh drinking water south to 27 million people all the way from San Jose out to Los Angeles. It also goes out to millions of acres of farmland in the Central Valley and beyond. The drought barrier at False River would essentially keep the salt water away from the pumps, or they’d have to be shut down.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors gives the thumbs up to workplace regulations for county employees, following state guidelines that changed last week. On Thursday the Cal/OSHA Board updated safety regulations to be in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health. On Tuesday Lake County followed as they’re the largest employer in the county with around 1,000 employees. With that, those vaccinated can go maskless, they will self-certify. So far, they’ve had about 400 certifications. Those who have not been vaccinated will have to continue to socially distance and wear masks. Those who are fully vaccinated don’t have to wear masks unless on public transit, in school and health care settings, correctional facilities and detention centers, homeless and emergency shelters, and cooling centers. The county must provide masks to anyone who requests them.
Some funny money is circulating in Lakeport. Police warning businesses and the community at large to watch out for counterfeit cash circulating locally. Police say they were contacted by vendors at the farmer’s market that they received phony $100 bills. The two vendors said those who gave them the bills were described as a man in his 30’s with medium complexion, and two lines tattooed under one eye, and the other suspect was a woman with a light complexion, with one or more missing front teeth and an A-line hairstyle.
A new campaign in Western States called “a dozen reasons not to speed” is joined by the CHP. State patrols or law enforcement in California, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming are looking for people speeding. The campaign from this Friday, June 25th until Sunday, June 27th. The CHP commissioner says “excessive speed and unsafe driving are a threat to everyone on the roadway” so they’ll be out with state partners this weekend the commissioner says, “with the common goal of saving lives through speed enforcement.” It comes after over 500 people died in speed related car crashes last year and another 57,000 were injured in crashes caused by unsafe speed.
A fire we reported about in Clearlake earlier this week is surrounded, but apparently still smoldering. A Facebook post yesterday said the fire which started Monday evening blackened 20-25 acres. The fire is believed to have started by a car fire that spread. Firefighters were there overnight into yesterday mopping up and stomping out hot spots. There were also fire engines and other equipment in the area. Some 2,600 or so lost their power because of a power down for safety reasons, but that’s been restored. There were also mandatory evacuations for a couple of hours, then downgraded to an advisory. The National Weather Service reported 10 mph winds at the time of the fire, with winds gusting up to 20 mph.
A fire just outside Mendocino County in Redwood Valley is out after it destroyed two outbuildings. Cal Fire reported the Kirk Fire burned 23 acres and destroyed two outbuildings. There was also a third building damaged.
A lawsuit has been filed by three people along with the Animal Legal Defense Fund against the National Park Service after several dozen tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore died from starvation and dehydration. The group says the animals couldn’t move beyond a fence the Park Service put up so they wouldn’t compete for food and water with cattle. The lawsuit claims the Park Service was negligent and more animals may die if they don’t provide them food and water during the drought.
While fireworks are illegal in Mendocino County, and many other spots in Calif. due to tinder dry, drought conditions, or other reasons, now there’s concern there may not be enough to meet consumer demand. Many local charities benefit from sales. They’re supposed to start next week but some of the stands were reportedly concerned they would sell out immediately. There’s been a holdup with the supply chain as many fireworks are stuck offshore and there’s been reduced manufacturing due to COVID.
Some who renewed their drivers license in Calif during the pandemic will be eligible for a free upgrade to Real ID. The DMV reports allowing anyone 70 or older who has reached the limit for out-of-office renewals to renew online or by mail, but they still needed to make an office visit to get a Real ID card. Now the DMV says it’ll waive the application fee to upgrade through the end of the year. The agency reported issuing over 5 million licenses and ID cards that were not Real ID for those eligible for one since last year. The Real ID will be required in May 2023 to travel within the US or to get into federal facilities or military bases.
The county’s general plan has been updated by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. The board mostly focused on safety issues then moved to cannabis agriculture and proposed caps on cultivation site size and fines for illegal water hauling. They looked at the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, The Climate Adaptation Vulnerability Assessment and Development and Resource Management.
A special meeting held by the Fort Bragg City Council was a breeze. They only spent 10 minutes, before unanimously approving buying a desalination and reverse osmosis machine. Staff had requested $600,000 be set aside for several drought related work and equipment. The machine will cost just over half that amount. The city’s main source of water in summer and fall, the Noyo River is very low, below the worst drought year on record, 1977. Trucking water in from Ukiah or Willits is not really an option, so desalination was recommended to take water from the water treatment plant which can provide almost 300,000 gallons a day.
